Author Topic: $100 RCM  (Read 18768 times)

Offline scorpio333

  • Ready For Intervention!
  • ******
  • Posts: 1182
  • Karma: +0/-0
  • got mule?
Re: $100 RCM
« Reply #15 on: August 15, 2015, 12:34:50 AM »
Good everything is smooth so far. What kind of vac do you plan to use? Does it come with a brush pad? I used a paint pad and they work ok. I recently ordered a Mobile Fidelity record brush and like it. I still use the paint pad to remove dust before applyng fluid.

Offline Sir Thrift-a-Lot

  • Ready For Intervention!
  • ******
  • Posts: 3813
  • Karma: +1/-0
Re: $100 RCM
« Reply #16 on: August 15, 2015, 09:58:47 AM »
Here is my small shop-vac of choice...

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Stinger-2-gal-Wet-Dry-Vacuum-WD2020/205404631

As for brushes, just regular old nylon bristle paint brushes.

Offline Resident

  • Double Secret Probation!
  • **
  • Posts: 169
  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: $100 RCM
« Reply #17 on: August 15, 2015, 12:12:07 PM »
That will more the do the trick and even if suction is a bit high, there is that relief valve at the top to take care of that.

I think that was a great idea.
Micromega IA-400
Toshiba SD9200 N
Sony PS X75
Mission 775
Jamo D830 Concert 8

Offline Sir Thrift-a-Lot

  • Ready For Intervention!
  • ******
  • Posts: 3813
  • Karma: +1/-0
Re: $100 RCM
« Reply #18 on: August 15, 2015, 01:22:02 PM »
Yeah, it seems to be a very well thought out design.   Waiting a week to try it will be a killer.

Offline Resident

  • Double Secret Probation!
  • **
  • Posts: 169
  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: $100 RCM
« Reply #19 on: August 16, 2015, 02:57:21 PM »
I know that I had made mine, it is just a simple wand that attaches to the vacuum hose.  It does work well as long as I dont get to close to the lp.

Then it sucks it right up.  This would at least for me as well be a much better item to use and the price point is arguably the best if it works as stated.  Ill be waiting patiently as well for your review.

:)
Micromega IA-400
Toshiba SD9200 N
Sony PS X75
Mission 775
Jamo D830 Concert 8

Offline EmperorNorton

  • Zen Master
  • *****
  • Posts: 706
  • Karma: +1/-1
Re: $100 RCM
« Reply #20 on: August 18, 2015, 09:05:16 AM »
Here is my small shop-vac of choice...

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Stinger-2-gal-Wet-Dry-Vacuum-WD2020/205404631

As for brushes, just regular old nylon bristle paint brushes.

That's a great idea.  I think I bought that exact model to take excess water off the winter pool cover.  I seldom use it and now I can try something new....
Rega Planar 3
WTL TPP
Oppo 103
Musical Fidelity M1 DAC
AR LS-17
Quad II 80 monoblocks
Canton CT-800 speakers

Offline Sir Thrift-a-Lot

  • Ready For Intervention!
  • ******
  • Posts: 3813
  • Karma: +1/-0
Re: $100 RCM
« Reply #21 on: August 21, 2015, 11:39:23 PM »
It came today.   Looks good.   I'll give usage impressions tomorrow.

Offline Resident

  • Double Secret Probation!
  • **
  • Posts: 169
  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: $100 RCM
« Reply #22 on: August 23, 2015, 10:34:35 AM »
Not a bad turn a round time from up North there.  Definitely waiting on impressions.
Micromega IA-400
Toshiba SD9200 N
Sony PS X75
Mission 775
Jamo D830 Concert 8

Offline Sir Thrift-a-Lot

  • Ready For Intervention!
  • ******
  • Posts: 3813
  • Karma: +1/-0
Re: $100 RCM
« Reply #23 on: August 23, 2015, 02:40:11 PM »
Will write more and have photos later, but so far I am VERY impressed.

Offline Sir Thrift-a-Lot

  • Ready For Intervention!
  • ******
  • Posts: 3813
  • Karma: +1/-0
Re: $100 RCM
« Reply #24 on: August 23, 2015, 09:33:29 PM »


So I have much to report about this RCM.   First, I should tell you that I experienced a bit of frustration when it initially arrived (this delayed my review).   Things can (and do) go wrong when you buy a product, from eBay or elsewhere.   Having something go wrong is not a reflection of a seller, how the incident is dealt with is.   So here goes part one of the story.

I anxiously set up my new machine and got out a record to clean.   When I turned on the vacuum, I observed that it wasn't really drying the record the way I anticipated.   I was having to towel dry the records afterward and this wasn't what I was expecting.   This was on Saturday afternoon.   So I sent Nick (the seller and designer) a message on eBay's board expecting to hear something maybe on Monday.   I don't think it was ten minutes before he got back to me with several suggestions.   None of those helped, so I started checking the thing out piece by piece.   What I found was that the end of the wand (the part that contacts the record) had a piece of plastic blocking what seemed to be a hole for the air to flow to that part.   The wand wasn't vacuuming the record at all, it was just pushing the fluid around.   I snapped a picture and sent it to Nick and he confirmed my speculation.   He was apologetic almost to a fault and did everything he could do to take care of me.   He said a replacement part would be shipped immediately and he gave me a financial consideration for my inconvenience.   He also offered a full refund in case I was put off, but that certainly wasn't an option I felt need to exercise.   What he didn't know is that as he was typing all of that, I was working from his confirmation and got into the barrel with an Exacto knife.   Though it took more than a little effort, the plastic was thin enough that I was able to remove it through use of the knife, a screwdriver to pry and needle nosed pliers to remove the offending material.   So I contacted him back to let him know I had remedied the situation.   Instead of saying "oh, good, now I don't need to send a replacement" as many sellers would, he wrote back suggesting that since the first one was now functional, that I might want my replacement in a different color to easily differentiate.   Nick is an awesome seller!

BTW, I had planned to get a $15 shop vac from Home Depot, but they were out of stock.   I found that Walmart sells the pictured Stanley for $20.   I usually don't shop the evil empire, but it was in stock, smaller, and a good color match (a closer match than the flash on my camera makes it look).   Well worth the extra $5 to me.

Now to the review.   I had previously been hand washing my records in the kitchen sink with a label protector, Sporacidin mold cleaner, a paint brush and tap water.   I had also tried a friend's Spin Clean, but was convinced I was getting far better results with the sink.   These are my frames of reference for using this product.   

There are pros and cons for this machine vs hand washing.   The first big pro is time.   I can clean at least five records with the machine in the time it takes to do one by hand.   The first big con is the noise.   I can't clean records with this machine after the kids have gone to bed.   Then there is the issue of fluid.   I used a LOT of cleaner and water with hand washing.   On the machine, if you let the fluid pool on the record (as was my practice) the edges of the labels soak through.   So really crusty finds may still get a hand wash first.   To help offset this, I went from a wash/rinse regimen to a three step process.     I am first cleaning with less of the mold cleaner, with less dwell time due to the lowered amount of fluid but more brushing because it is so much easier with the record being on the platter (and it keeps the record from drying with soap on it).   Then after vacuuming the soap away, I am using a 50/50 iso/distilled mix, brushing it then vacuuming.   Lastly a rinse with pure distilled water and a third vacuum.

This method is giving me results as good or perhaps even better than the hand washing.   It is so much quicker and easier that it is clearly preferable in my mind.   As I alluded to earlier, I believe that this RCM is far superior to the popular budget option, the Spin Clean.   It isn't even close IMHO.

To give people a pragmatic idea of what to expect with the machine, I make a test subject of a Brian Eno album that came from the thrift the day before.   I recorded a 30 second clip before cleaning and after.   Links to those files are attached.   I then took those files and ran them both through ClickRepair at default settings.   In the left channel, the before file had 37760 repaired samples as opposed to 24416 for the after file.   This represents a 35% improvement in clicks on the record for the moment it took me to clean it.   Probably more than 35% when you consider than some clicks are scratches which can't be cleaned out.   The right channel started with 32288 samples before and 25852 after, representing a 20% improvement.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am really cheap and don't drop a buck and a half lightly.   I am VERY happy with this purchase.

Wav files...

https://mega.nz/#!tplQkJ5Z!yZJLTCcKZ55yALxUIg49aeWGCpwI7QXFoVV6gy0Ix7o

https://mega.nz/#!xgEDkZbL!GiE2Lx5aAcV5xgHpAbILOUA8C_Kolm5TOzOZoN46xs8

Offline MacGeek

  • Ready For Intervention!
  • ******
  • Posts: 1464
  • Karma: +1/-0
Re: $100 RCM
« Reply #25 on: August 24, 2015, 06:32:28 AM »
Thanks, for the review, Mark.  I like the matching shop vac.

Do you have a Spin Clean?  If so, can it be used in conjunction with the new unit (wash on one, dry on the other)?
Mac stuff, Sony HDR-F1HD AM/FM/HD tuner, Denon DRS 810 cassette, Denon CDR-W1500 CD recorder, Music Hall MMF-9 w/B&O MMC2, B & O 4002 w/B & O 20 CL, Revox A-77

Offline Sir Thrift-a-Lot

  • Ready For Intervention!
  • ******
  • Posts: 3813
  • Karma: +1/-0
Re: $100 RCM
« Reply #26 on: August 24, 2015, 07:22:47 AM »
I don't have a Spin Clean, but Jim was kind enough to let me use his at one of the meetings.   You could wash in the Spin Clean then dry on the vac, but I don't think it would be of benefit.   One of the things I don't like about the Spin Clean is that you are using the same fluid for many dirty records.   I prefer spraying clean fluid on each one.

Offline scorpio333

  • Ready For Intervention!
  • ******
  • Posts: 1182
  • Karma: +0/-0
  • got mule?
Re: $100 RCM
« Reply #27 on: August 24, 2015, 09:16:02 AM »
Nice write up. A friend of mine is considering one and I'll pass your review along. More sellers should take note, when you take care of customers they tell others which in turn is free advertising.

Seems to be a no brainer over a Spin Clean. No offense to anyone who has one, but STaL hit the nail on the head, Spin Clean uses the same water over and over. Big no no for cleaning. I use to do plenty of car detailing for friends/family and the first step is washing with two buckets. One with soap, one with water. Dump the sponge in the water to clean it before getting more soap. Do it once and you'll see how dirty that water is at the end. That practice should be used for any type of cleaning, otherwise you're just moving dirt around and not removing it.

As for vac'ing a record out of a spin clean, I would think a Nitty Gritty type setup would be better for that. Nitty Gritty's vac the bottom side of a record, the record pretty much sits on a hockey puck size platter. Placing a wet record on platter will get the top side dry, but when you flip it over the dry side ends up on the wet platter. A custom made shopvac nozzle could be made to vac both sides. I've seen pics of these, but it's a pain to get the cuts exact.

Do you see any way to add a motor to the platter? That's the next level! Once you have a platter that spins all by itself you'll never go back!



Offline Jim Pittsburgh

  • Audio Connoisseur
  • ****
  • Posts: 741
  • Karma: +1/-0
Re: $100 RCM
« Reply #28 on: August 24, 2015, 09:22:52 AM »
good review Mark... thanks for the info. Looks to be a very good alternative to the much more expensive models. I hope Santa brings me one lol

FYI  Since your use of my Spin Clean, I've refined my own Spin Clean process... For really dirty albums; pre-clean using a paint pad and a very diluted mix of Dawn and a few drops of a enzymatic cleaner, tap water rinse very  thoroughly, spin clean 3-4 rotations right, left and right again...and then a spray rinse with distilled water and then another round through the Spin Clean.... I change the Spin Clean water about every 6-10 albums depending how cloudy / dirty it is. I then give every cleaned album a very thorough roll with an "In the Groove" roller cleaner before initial play.... seems to work better than any other process I've tried.

For normal "new to me" albums...  it's the same double Spin Clean process rinsing with a distilled water spray after each and roll with the ITG ...

It's the PITA wiping/ drying process that I hate and I think that this machine will save me that time and possible contamination from the rags etc. 
a bunch of nice sounding stuff. Nice that I'm finally able to actually listen to file music for the first time...

Offline Sir Thrift-a-Lot

  • Ready For Intervention!
  • ******
  • Posts: 3813
  • Karma: +1/-0
Re: $100 RCM
« Reply #29 on: August 24, 2015, 10:37:08 AM »
Nice write up. A friend of mine is considering one and I'll pass your review along. More sellers should take note, when you take care of customers they tell others which in turn is free advertising.

Seems to be a no brainer over a Spin Clean. No offense to anyone who has one, but STaL hit the nail on the head, Spin Clean uses the same water over and over. Big no no for cleaning. I use to do plenty of car detailing for friends/family and the first step is washing with two buckets. One with soap, one with water. Dump the sponge in the water to clean it before getting more soap. Do it once and you'll see how dirty that water is at the end. That practice should be used for any type of cleaning, otherwise you're just moving dirt around and not removing it.

As for vac'ing a record out of a spin clean, I would think a Nitty Gritty type setup would be better for that. Nitty Gritty's vac the bottom side of a record, the record pretty much sits on a hockey puck size platter. Placing a wet record on platter will get the top side dry, but when you flip it over the dry side ends up on the wet platter. A custom made shopvac nozzle could be made to vac both sides. I've seen pics of these, but it's a pain to get the cuts exact.

Do you see any way to add a motor to the platter? That's the next level! Once you have a platter that spins all by itself you'll never go back!

I don't think so, but he does sell wand kits that you can use with your existing table.   I have a Gemini DD with no arm which I have been saving for such a project, but I don't know if that will ever happen.   Turning manually is no big deal for me thus far.